Beer Reviews
by Tyler Makmell [tyler@slugmag.com]
Issue 240 / December 2008 More from this Issue
Download PDF
I swear to Gaia and all things holy thatif I see one fucking Jesus tree beforethe month of November next year, Iwill … give up drinking before noon forat least a week. Which brings me onover to this month’s beer style—theseasonal brew. The seasonal brewhas no major guidelines to go off of,because frankly, it’s a seasonal, and itis the brewer’s choice to do whateverin the hell they wish with it. The onlyway to look at these brews is by puredrinkability. So here are some brews tolook for in the winter months, and to aidin your celebration of the solstice or anyother pagan-based holiday you wish topartake in.
Harvest Ale
Brewery: Red Rock
Abv: 4.0 r>Average Price: $4.50
Serving Style: Pint/Pitcher/Growler
Rating: ***3/4
Description: This guy pours a softgolden color with a brilliant white head.Murky on its clarity due the unfilteredprocess, it stands as quite the lightdrinking brew. One consistent hopcharacter (Amarillo for you geeks outthere) is the dominating aroma in thisbrew, shortly followed by some lightersweet malt.
Overview: Nothing too hard to thinkabout, this is a killer brew that has aneven balance of hops and malt. Thisyear’s batch did seem to be a touchsweeter than I remember, but otherwisestill another classic from the guys atRed Rock. Now that we got the beerout of the way, let’s talk about the kickassartwork Chris Harlin (brewer forRed Rock) drew up for this brew.
Where to Find: Only on tap at RedRock locations, and only released in thefall, so mark your calendars.
Wasatch Pumpkin Ale
Brewery: Utah Brewers Cooperative
Abv: 4.0 r>Average Price: $13.99/six pack
Serving Style: Pint/Pitcher/Growler
Rating: ***1/2
Description: Coming out of the bottlea decent amber color, it instantly putsoff a firm amount of your standard holidayaromas: cinnamon, nutmeg, and apolite pumpkin puree like feel followedup with a soft amount of malt. It drinkslike a standard spiced beer should—itis a touch light in the body, and revealssome ginger and malty flavors, but stillleaves your palate lingering for somemore!
Overview: Okay, fuck it. I promisedmyself I was not going to talk aboutpumpkin beers, but hell I just gotmotivated by this year’s brew of thepumpkin ale. Good for any occasion,this will go damn well with Thanksgivingdinner or as a holiday gift to your localbishop. But if you want to try the trueWasatch version of this, you ought togo to the source up in Park City.
Where to Find: Almost every grocerystore around the valley. (Fall Release)
Autumn Bock
Brewery: Wasatch
Abv: 4.0 r>Average Price: $3.50
Serving Style: Pint/Pitcher/Growler
Rating: ***1/2
Description: Deep amber in color, thiscomes off the tap with a nice foamy offwhite head that manages to retain tothe last sip. The aroma is this soggy,wet, toasty, malty, piece of art that lingersin the nose. The taste is a forwardtoasted malt that is just as dominant asthe aroma, and it finishes with a verysubtle hop backing that makes it damneasy drinking.
Overview: It’s about damn time that Ifinally got some Wasatch brews put upon the board. And with two killer brewers(Ray Madsen & Matt Beamer) upin Park City, it is no doubt that they arewhipping out some damn good beers.Coming off a win at GABF, they haveproven to know their shit. Sorry to saythat this is only on tap in the fall, so besure to check it out in the coming year.
Where to Find: Only on tap at theWasatch Brew Pub in Park City (During"Autumn").
Even better for those of you that aremaking your trip up to Evanston foryour beer, porn and fireworks run, besure to support a local brewer at SudsBrothers where Madsen’s BelgianBlack is being featured. This beast of abrew sitting at 10.b.v. is a winninghomebrew that has been incorporatedin this brewery’s arsenal of brews. Thisopaquely black brew has a stern aromaof Belgian malts, caramel and somesubtle raisiny plums.
Harvest Ale
Brewery: Red Rock
Abv: 4.0 r>Average Price: $4.50
Serving Style: Pint/Pitcher/Growler
Rating: ***3/4
Description: This guy pours a softgolden color with a brilliant white head.Murky on its clarity due the unfilteredprocess, it stands as quite the lightdrinking brew. One consistent hopcharacter (Amarillo for you geeks outthere) is the dominating aroma in thisbrew, shortly followed by some lightersweet malt.
Overview: Nothing too hard to thinkabout, this is a killer brew that has aneven balance of hops and malt. Thisyear’s batch did seem to be a touchsweeter than I remember, but otherwisestill another classic from the guys atRed Rock. Now that we got the beerout of the way, let’s talk about the kickassartwork Chris Harlin (brewer forRed Rock) drew up for this brew.
Where to Find: Only on tap at RedRock locations, and only released in thefall, so mark your calendars.
Wasatch Pumpkin Ale
Brewery: Utah Brewers Cooperative
Abv: 4.0 r>Average Price: $13.99/six pack
Serving Style: Pint/Pitcher/Growler
Rating: ***1/2
Description: Coming out of the bottlea decent amber color, it instantly putsoff a firm amount of your standard holidayaromas: cinnamon, nutmeg, and apolite pumpkin puree like feel followedup with a soft amount of malt. It drinkslike a standard spiced beer should—itis a touch light in the body, and revealssome ginger and malty flavors, but stillleaves your palate lingering for somemore!
Overview: Okay, fuck it. I promisedmyself I was not going to talk aboutpumpkin beers, but hell I just gotmotivated by this year’s brew of thepumpkin ale. Good for any occasion,this will go damn well with Thanksgivingdinner or as a holiday gift to your localbishop. But if you want to try the trueWasatch version of this, you ought togo to the source up in Park City.
Where to Find: Almost every grocerystore around the valley. (Fall Release)
Autumn Bock
Brewery: Wasatch
Abv: 4.0 r>Average Price: $3.50
Serving Style: Pint/Pitcher/Growler
Rating: ***1/2
Description: Deep amber in color, thiscomes off the tap with a nice foamy offwhite head that manages to retain tothe last sip. The aroma is this soggy,wet, toasty, malty, piece of art that lingersin the nose. The taste is a forwardtoasted malt that is just as dominant asthe aroma, and it finishes with a verysubtle hop backing that makes it damneasy drinking.
Overview: It’s about damn time that Ifinally got some Wasatch brews put upon the board. And with two killer brewers(Ray Madsen & Matt Beamer) upin Park City, it is no doubt that they arewhipping out some damn good beers.Coming off a win at GABF, they haveproven to know their shit. Sorry to saythat this is only on tap in the fall, so besure to check it out in the coming year.
Where to Find: Only on tap at theWasatch Brew Pub in Park City (During"Autumn").
Even better for those of you that aremaking your trip up to Evanston foryour beer, porn and fireworks run, besure to support a local brewer at SudsBrothers where Madsen’s BelgianBlack is being featured. This beast of abrew sitting at 10.b.v. is a winninghomebrew that has been incorporatedin this brewery’s arsenal of brews. Thisopaquely black brew has a stern aromaof Belgian malts, caramel and somesubtle raisiny plums.
Facebook
Myspace
Twitter
YouTube
Vimeo
RSS
Posted on December 17, 2008 by Beer Drinker
Youre incorrect in stating that there are no guidelines to seasonal brews. The nature of the season dictates the style of beer. Spring time correlates with Maibocks and white ales, among others; summer correlates with Helles, lagers, wheat beers, fruit beers and hoppy American ales; winter correlates with strong ales (Christmas ales), barley wines and Imperial stouts while autumn correlates with porters, browns and specific seasonal brews like pumpkin. Obviously, there are other beers associated with specific seasons while some people dont care what theyre drinking at any time of year. Brewers do take the liberty of tweaking any given brew to make it theirs, but a seasonal is seasonal for a reason the weather. That said, Chris did draw a killer label for the Harvest Ale.
Add a comment
Please keep your comments on the subject of the article.
We will delete your comment if it is racist, misogynistic, sexist, bigoted or just plain lame.
No HTML allowed!